By NNN-PTI,
Washington : Despite its alarming expansion in countries like Yemen and Somalia, al-Qaeda and its leaders remain in the tribal areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan making it their nerve centre, Obama Administration’s top counter-terrorism official said Thursday.
“Al-Qaeda, the beating heart of the global network remains located in the Afghanistan/Pakistan border region,” Garry Reid, Deputy Assistant Defence Secretary for Special Operation and Combating Terrorism, told US lawmakers.
“The President has made clear that the mission of the United States in Afghanistan-Pakistan is to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda and prevent its return to both countries,” he said.
Despite the setbacks al-Qaeda has suffered, the Taliban and other extremist groups continue to provide it with support and it thus remains a capable and dangerous enemy, Reid noted.